The present invention relates to an infant carrier and, more particularly, to an infant carrier having a bouncer feature to provide a soothing oscillating movement to an infant in the carrier.
Infant carriers are well known and many different configurations for infant carriers have been proposed in the prior art. Prior art infant carriers commonly include a shell for receiving an infant and a movable handle or handles for carrying the carrier with the infant therein. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,997 to Knoedler et al discloses an infant carrier having a bouncer feature wherein, in one mode of operation, the shell portion for the carrier is suspended above a base portion by means of flexible spring rods which provide for a bouncing motion of the carrier shell relative to the base portion.
Another important feature for infant carriers is the provision of a handle which may be located at a plurality of positions including a storage position where the handle is located adjacent to the carrier shell and a carrying position where the handle is located above the cavity for receiving the infant. Various mechanisms have been proposed for locating infant carrier handles in their desired positions. However, such mechanisms are typically complex and require an inordinate number of parts to effect their operation.
Accordingly, there is a need for an infant carrier having a simple design and which provides for a bouncing mode of operation. In addition, there is a need for an infant carrier including a handle which is movable to different positions and which includes a simple mechanism for locking the handle at predetermined orientations relative to the carrier shell.